The Haydn and Hummel Trumpet Concertos and Their Similarities
C. Nathan Blinn
Senior Paper (490)
Professor Smith
25 November 2008
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The Franz Joseph Haydn Trumpet Concerto (1796) and Johann Nepomuk
Hummel Concerto for trumpet and orchestra (1803) are staples within trumpet literature.
Players and listeners know many similarities exist between these concertos. They are so similar that many people believe that one copied the other. Through examining the history of these composers, instrument composed for, trumpet player composed for, style of the time and place in which the compositions were made, and outside musical influences, one can easily see why these two concertos have so many similarities.
Movement three measures 194-202 of the Hummel (figure 1a) take the motive of movement three measures 86-92 of the Haydn (figure 1b) and develop it. A trill passage in movement three measures 218-232 of the Hummel is similar to the trill passage of
Haydn’s movement three measures 249-256. Both compositions are set up in the common three movement form of first movement Allegro, second movement Andante, and third movement Allegro. The first movement of both works is in sonata form. The second movement of both works is in binary form. The third movement of both works is in sonata rondo form. The andante section of both works is either in, or feels like it is in compound meter. Citations for measure numbers of the Haydn concerto come from the
Schirmer’s Library of Musical Classics published by G. Schirmer Inc. version of the concerto. Citations for measure numbers of the Hummel concerto come from the Roger
Voisin edited version copyright by International Music Company.
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Figure 1a. put in the key of C to see the similarities between the two concertos. Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 18
Figure 1b. put in the key of C to see the similarities between the two concertos. Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 19
Franz Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, on March 31, 1732. He was the second born into what would become a large family of twelve children. Every Sunday at home, Franz would hear music played by father Mathias and mother Anna Maria Koller.
Through this experience, he learned to sing and play instruments by ear. When Franz was five years old, Johann Franck, a family member who was a principal and choir
3 director, began properly educating Haydn on topics including music. Haydn moved to
Hainburg, Austria unaccompanied by his family in order to receive this education. He never returned home. At age eight, Haydn joined the St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, directed by Karl Georg Reutter. As a choir member, Haydn’s overall musicality was improved through sight reading. Besides being part of the choir, he was supposed to receive lessons from Reutter, but this never happened.
At age seventeen, Haydn’s voice began to crack and change. Reutter removed Haydn from the choir leaving him with no housing or job. After leaving the choir, Haydn was taken in by the Spangler family where he was treated well. Anton Buchoholz, a Vienna
Marktrichter and trader, loaned Haydn 150 florins with which he bought a garret (attic- like room) in a Vienna house called the Michaelerhaus. Here he studied texts including
Kellner’s Unterricht in Generalbass, Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum, Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Kapellmeister, and C.P.E. Bach’s Keyboard Sonatas. Haydn practiced the harpsichord frequently at the Michaelerhaus. Pietro Metastasio, a respected poet in
Vienna and fellow resident of the Michaelerhaus, heard Haydn playing harpsichord and volunteered to teach him Italian. Metastasio arranged to have Haydn give piano lessons to Marianne Martinez, someone Metastasio had taken into his house. Martinez also took lessons with Niccolò Porpora, an established composer and vocal instructor in Vienna.
Haydn was allowed to accompany Martinez at her lessons with Porpora. From Porpora,
Haydn also took composition lessons, and learned more about singing and the Italian language. While still practicing violin, organ, harpsichord, and composition, Haydn began teaching lessons to many students. At this point in time, he was very busy working
4 long hours and sleeping little. In 1755, he composed string quartets for Karl Joseph von
Fürnberg. Count Morzin hired Haydn in 1758 to compose for the orchestra.
In 1761, Haydn took the position of Vice-Kapellmeister at Esterháza palace in
Einstadt. This was under Kapellmeister Gregorius Werner and Prince Paul Esterházy.
Haydn became the head Kapellmeister after Werner was gone. Later Prince Nicolaus took over as the head of Esterháza. Prince Nicolaus played the barytone, a stringed instrument similar to a bass viola, which attributes to the barytone compositions of
Haydn. Haydn was also Kapellmeister under Prince Anton and Prince Nicolaus II. It is important to note that while in Vienna, Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met each other. Throughout the rest of their lives, they shared a great respect for each other. The styles of music of both of them changed out of admiration for the other1.
Joseph Haydn had a brother, Michael, who was also a composer. This brother worked as the music director and concertmaster to the Archbishop of Salzburg. Here he was paid three hundred florins a year until his later life where this was doubled. Joseph received more than these six hundred florins after his first year at Esterháza. Michael said, “Give me an encouraging hand, like that lent to my brother, and I will not fall behind him.” 2 This shows that Michael was not happy with his brother because of the different opportunities provided.
In 1760, Haydn married Maria Anna Aloysia Apollonia3. This marriage was unhappy for both of them. Both partners had affairs outside of the marriage. They never had
1 Karl Geiringer, Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1982), 80. 2 Karl Geiringer, Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1982), 73. 3 Karl Geiringer, Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1982), 37. 5 children. Haydn and Luigia Polzelli, a mezzo-soprano, had an affair beginning in 1780.
Haydn would go on to compose and arrange many arias for her. She had children who many consider to be Haydn’s. These children were taught music by Haydn. Luigia and
Haydn never married and split up years later.
In 1783, Haydn was invited to London to take over as the Professional Concerts director, but declined because he did not want to lose his job at Esterháza. In 1791-1792, and again in 1794-1795, he toured London conducting and composing. These tours were very successfully received by the people in London. His compositional output during this time was also some of the greatest and most well-known works of his life.
In 1803, Haydn quit composing in the middle of his op. 103, because he was ill. This was the end of his creative life. Around the time that Haydn stopped composing, Ludwig van Beethoven began to be a prominent figure in composition. Haydn died on May 31,
1809.
During his life, Haydn was seen as a very good humored man. Even though he was very successful during his lifetime, he was humble about his success. This may be because he was born into a family with little money. Despite his meager beginnings, by the end of his life, Haydn was a wealthy man. During his life, he composed many forms and styles including masses, other sacred music, oratorios, secular cantatas-choruses, dramatic works, canons, dances or marches for orchestra or military band, string and wind instrument concertos, string quartets barytone works, and keyboard concertos.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel was a child prodigy born in Pressburg (modern day
Bratislava, Slovakia), on November 14, 1778. He began reading music and playing violin at the age of five and piano at the age of six. At age eight, Hummel went with his
6 family to Vienna to fulfill his father’s position as the musical director of the Theater auf der Wieden. In Vienna, Hummel began taking lessons from Mozart who was very impressed with the young student’s skills. After these lessons, young Hummel went on a four year tour (1789-1793) performing piano in cities including Prague, Dresden, Berlin,
Magdeburg, Göttingen, Brunswick, Kassel, Weissenstein, Hanover, Celle, Hamburg,
Kiel, Rensburg, Flensburg, Lübeck, Schleswig and Copenhagen. Father and son arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1790, and both began teaching pupils. They taught enough lessons to support themselves financially and to get young Hummel English lessons.
After three months, they continued touring and went to Durham, Cambridge, and
London. They moved on to the Netherlands where they were forced out by the French
Army, so they returned to Vienna in 1793 via Amsterdam, Cologne, Bonn, Mainz,
Frankfurt and through Bavaria to Linz, where they rejoined the rest of the family.
Hummel went to Vienna (1793) where he began teaching lessons and composing.
He also took lessons from Georg Albrechtsberger in counterpoint, and from Antoio
Salieri in vocal composition, aesthetics, and the philosophy of music. Haydn even taught
Hummel organ lessons. In 1804, Hummel was given the position as the Kapellmeister, a position previously held by Haydn, by Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy at Esterháza. For
Prince Nikolaus II, Hummel had to compose sacred music for chapel, teach the choirboys the piano, violin, and cello, and assemble a Haydn archive. Hummel gained considerable experience with sacred and dramatic music, the handling of an orchestra and opera house, and being at the head of a large ensemble through working at Esterháza.
Since he was close to Vienna during this time, he also continued to build his reputation there. In 1811, he returned to Vienna where he composed piano, chamber, and dramatic
7 works. That year, he was also relieved of his position at Esterháza. He married singer
Elisabeth Röckel in 1813, with whom he had two sons.
The year 1814 led to more touring and performing which allowed Hummel to become quite popular. Financially, Hummel struggled because of his lack of a constant position. He settled into a position in Stuttgart, but was unsatisfied because he didn’t have any time to compose. In 1818, he accepted a position to be Kapellmeister at
Weimar where he could both fulfill his duties as Kapellmeister and find time to compose.
He directed the orchestra in new and old material. He was at liberty to hire musicians that he found on his tours, and initiate and conduct at annual pension-fund concerts, celebrations, special performances in honor of the ducal family, and concerts for local luminaries like J. W. von Goethe.
Throughout his stay at Weimar, Hummel’s compositional output was prolific. He continued touring, but by around 1830, his popularity had decreased and fewer people were interested in seeing his performances. Hummel died in Weimar on October 17,
1837. At Weimar, Hummel was described as being a warm and simple person who was hard working. His works consist of operas, singspiele, symphonic masses, other sacred works, chamber music, songs, concertos, solo piano music, and arrangements of other works. A notable type of work that Hummel did not write was the symphony.
Haydn and Hummel had some very similar influences in their lives. They both lived and composed in Vienna. The Viennese culture affected their compositional style.
Mozart influenced both of them. Both of these composers taught, conducted, and composed at Esterháza. They both worked at Esterháza, where they composed their respective trumpet concertos. Haydn and Mozart met each other and became friends.
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They influenced each other’s styles. Hummel took lessons from Mozart so Mozart obviously affected Hummel. Haydn gave Hummel organ lessons so Hummel was influenced by the style of Haydn. Therefore, the two composers had very similar influences in their history. With similar influences, their compositional styles are logically going to be similar.
The Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos were written seven years apart, but both were written during the Classical period of music. Within the Classical style, many symphonies, sonatas, concertos, string quartets, piano trios, and operas were being composed. The instrumentation for Classical compositions consisted of mainly strings playing the melody and harmony. Wind instruments supported the melodies and harmonies. Trumpets would frequently emphasize tonic and dominant within the key.
Even in the early symphonies of Haydn, the wind instruments were only used to support what the strings were playing. In Haydn’s later symphonies, the wind instruments, especially oboes and horns, along with all woodwind instruments, were given melodies and even used as soloists. This allowed the wind instruments to begin to play an equal role to the strings4. Within symphonies of the Classical period, trumpets were mainly included to add brilliance and volume which is associated with the military or nobility.
Trumpets were usually used in combination with the drums as a rhythmic instrument, not a melodic instrument. Emphasis was placed on the tonic and dominant notes within the key by the trumpet. Because the natural trumpet was the instrument used in the orchestras, in many cases the compositions had to stay in the key of the instrument.
When modulations were made to different keys, the trumpet was not used. The harmonic series (figure 2) restricted the pitches that were played forcing the instrument to play
4 Adam Carse, The History of Orchestration, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1964) 183-4. 9 pitches that were predominantly tonic and dominant. Since the role of the trumpet was to play these tonic and dominant notes, composers would usually choose to not use the trumpet when a modulation was made5.
Figure 2. Harmonic series. Cristiano M.L. Forster, “Just Intonation: Two Definitions,” The Chrysalis Foundation, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chrysalis-foundation.org/Chapter- 03_Figure-12.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.chrysalis- foundation.org/just_intonation.htm&usg=__1Drmgvfo6B_U2upMrpLxFM8VQ90=&h=443&w=557& sz=28&hl=en&start=8&um=1&tbnid=45oeWOAQxsXaFM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3 Fq%3Dharmonic%2Bseries%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox- a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN, (19 November, 2008)
In the Classical music style, from about 1750-1820, a common ornamentation was the trill. Since both compositions use these trills, the Classical style impacted both
Haydn and Hummel. A trill consists of rapidly playing two adjacent notes in the scale.
Trills were written for and used by nearly all instruments. A trill passage in movement three measures 218-232 of the Hummel is similar to the trill passage of Haydn’s movement three measures 249-256. Trills are also used at the beginning and end of both the first and second movement of the Hummel concerto. Haydn also uses trills in his trumpet concerto in the middle of the first movement. Hummel wrote a piano treatise on
5 Adam Carse, The History of Orchestration, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1964) 192. 10 trills in 18286. Although this treatise was written for the piano, the concepts within it are used today for all instruments when interpreting a trill in Classical music.
The mordent is an ornament used in both the Hummel and Haydn trumpet concertos. A mordent is playing a note, going up to or down to the next note in the scale, and returning to the original pitch. In movement three measures 194-202 of the Hummel
(Figure 1a) and movement three measures 86-92 of the Haydn (Figure 1b) a figure is used that includes mordents. Niccolò Porpora, one of Haydn’s teachers, was actually said to have used so many trills and mordents that he was a poor and unemployed composer.
After some persuading, Charles VI hired Porpora to compose a piece of music. Prior to writing this piece for Charles VI, Porpora was informed that he needed to use fewer trills and mordents than he previously used. Charles VI enjoyed the piece composed by
Porpora and laughed when he heard few trills in the fugue7. This story shows that the trill and mordent were commonly used and potentially overused ornaments within the classical style. Much ornamentation is from the baroque period. Although ornamentations are similar between the baroque and classical style, there is much less ornamentation used within classical literature. The amount that should be included is not actually known. Notation of the original ornamentation was not always written down on the played parts. Instead, performers chose where to insert the ornamentation. Today, players are forced to interpret where and where not to include trills within this literature8.
6 Elisa Koehler, “In Search of Hummel: Perspectives on the Trumpet Concerto of 1803,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, January 2003, 9. 7 Karl Geiringer, Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1982), 33. 8 Charles Rosen, The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1997), 101. 11
Although both the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos fit within the Classical style, neither one was performed after the initial playing in the early nineteenth century.
Until the mid twentieth century, these concertos were not played nor known9. In the
1950’s and 1960’s, Baroque literature was added to the trumpet players’ repertoire.
Although these concertos are both considered Classical literature, the inclusion of
Baroque literature increased the amount that the Classical literature is played. Many people became more aware of this music through this inclusion. Also, through the increase in available recordings, people have been able to hear and get to know this literature10.
The Haydn trumpet concerto was rediscovered in a Brussels conservatory and performed in 1907. A piano reduction was created in 1929 with the full score being released in 193111. The Hummel trumpet concerto was supposed to be performed as a recital piece in 1958 by Yale University student Merrill Debsky, but he wasn’t able to because it was not shipped in the mail early enough for him to get it. It was later performed and recorded by Armando Ghitalla12. Through the availability of recordings to listeners, these trumpet concertos have become some of the most played trumpet concertos.
9 Trevor Herbert and John Wallace, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 238. 10 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 20. 11 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 8. 12 Elisa Koehler, “In Search of Hummel: Perspectives on the Trumpet Concerto of 1803,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, January 2003, 8. 12
In the early Classical style, the late eighteenth century, the trumpet became less frequently used, because it was used specifically for “heroic” playing13. Also, the natural trumpet was used in Classical literature forcing music to be written and stay in the fundamental key of the instrument. This had to be done in order to follow the harmonic series. In the Classical period, pieces began changing keys in the middle of movements and in-between movements. Therefore, the trumpet was used less frequently. The string section changed keys very readily allowing composers to explore different keys, especially within the newly found sonata form where many different keys were used in the middle or development section of the piece14. In order for the trumpet to be written for in Classical literature, it needed to have the ability to change keys and playing melodically.
Another similarity between these compositions is that they were both written to be played on a keyed trumpet also known as the organisierte Trompete or organized trumpet
(Figure 3). A keyed trumpet is like a modern Bb trumpet turned sideways with anywhere from 4-6 keys played with, most likely, the left hand. This instrument has two coils of cylindrical tubing. These keys cover tone holes that open when the key is depressed.
Opening the tone hole shortens the instrument which raises the pitch. Only one key is depressed at a time. Depressing these keys allows the instrument to play notes that are not within the harmonic series. Tone produced on this instrument has been compared with that of an oboe or clarinet when any of the keys were depressed. Initially this instrument was highly complimented by listeners, but due to the tone quality, it never
13 Art Brownlow, The Last Trumpet: A History of the English Slide Trumpet (New York: Pendagon Press, 1996), 14. 14 Art Brownlow, The Last Trumpet: A History of the English Slide Trumpet (New York: Pendagon Press, 1996), 14-16. 13 grew in popularity15. Keyed trumpets were invented to correct the eleventh partial on the natural trumpet which was out of tune, and to make a trumpet that sounded good in all keys16. Originally these instruments were in the keys of D and E-flat, developments were made through the use of different crooks with different lengths of pipe, allowing all keys to be played on the keyed trumpet17.
Figure 3. A Keyed Trumpet from Bad Sackingen Trumpet Museum. Hørven, Vera. “O. J.’s Trumpet Page”
The keyed trumpet is not to be confused with the keyed bugle (Figure 4). The keyed bugle was another instrument of the nineteenth century that was frequently played.
As with the keyed trumpet, when the keys are depressed, the tone holes are opened.
There is only one coil of tubing making up this instrument. It is also a conical bore instrument18. Opening a tone hole makes the instrument shorter which raises the pitch.
More than one hole can be opened at once. Also, the keyed bugle is played similarly to
15 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 3. 16 Trevor Herbert and John Wallace, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 28. 17 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 3. 18 Dudgeon, Ralph T. The Keyed Bugle,2nd ed. (Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2004), 8. 14 contemporary Bb trumpets other than that both the left and right hands depressed keys.
The keyed bugle was used particularly within the military. 19
Figure 4. A keyed bugle. First Brigade Band, interviewed by Nathan Blinn and Troy Kowalski, 26 September 2008
The slide trumpet was another frequently used instrument when these concertos were written. It was used from the late fifteenth century through the early nineteenth century. Like the contemporary trombone, the slide trumpet had a slide that allowed it to play pitches outside of the harmonic series. This was an improvement over the natural trumpet that only played pitches fitting into the harmonic series. Also, many pitches played on the natural trumpet were out of tune. Through the use of the slide trumpet, pitches that were out of tune on the natural trumpet could be corrected20.
The keyed trumpet is the only instrument that could have played either of the two concertos. Neither concertos would be possible to play using a natural trumpet because many of the notes are outside of the harmonic series. Thomas Harper, a respected
19 , Ralph T. The Keyed Bugle,2nd ed. (Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2004), 162. 20 Edward H. Tarr. "Slide trumpet." in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. (30 Oct. 2008), 1. 15
English trumpeter stated, “The Author is aware there are Keyed Trumpets, but… the
Trumpets written for in this Work [i.e. the slide trumpets] are capable of accomplishing in a Superior Style, all that may be required…”21 Although this quote is not about the
Haydn or Hummel concerto, it represents the common thought of the time that the slide trumpet was a better instrument than the keyed trumpet. The slide trumpet could play all of the pitches within these two concertos, but it “could not negotiate the rapid passages22.” Therefore, these two concertos had to be written for the keyed trumpet.
Since no other instrument could play the Haydn and Hummel concertos, they would not have existed without the invention of the keyed trumpet.
One example of technical passages that the invention of the keyed trumpet made possible was a motive Haydn used and Hummel expanded. This is measures 86-92 of movement three in the Haydn concerto (Figure 1b) and measures 194-202 of movement three in Hummel’s trumpet concerto (Figure 1a). A trumpet composition could not have included material like this prior to the invention of the keyed trumpet.
Instrument developments allowed Hummel to write lower notes than Haydn could write. Within the Haydn concerto, few notes below concert eb´ are written in the trumpet part. The trumpet used when that concerto was written had poor tone quality down in this lower range. In order to avoid playing notes that would not sound in tune, Haydn used the upper register of the instrument up through a concert db´´´23. Through developments, the instrument used to play the Hummel concerto was an alto horn or a
21 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 3. 22 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 11. 23 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 11. 16 wide bore instrument. This wide bore allowed the instrument to have clear tone down in the lower register. The range used within the Hummel concerto extends from a concert g up to a concert eb´´24. It is also commonly believed that Haydn wrote for a four keyed instrument where Hummel wrote for a five keyed instrument. The use of this extra key would have allowed Hummel to write notes lower than those within the Haydn
Concerto25.
The orchestration differs between the two concertos because of the instrumental development of the keyed trumpet. Haydn frequently doubles the solo line with a violin when keys are used on the trumpet. This may be because the instrument sound was a little weak. On the other hand, Hummel does not double the solo line, suggesting that either the instrument was much more developed for the Hummel concerto, or Haydn and
Hummel have very different approaches to orchestration. Haydn also does not start or end phrases on keyed pitches. The phrases all begin and end with pitches that can be played without depressing any keys. This shows that there was a definite difference in the sound of the keyed pitches from those not keyed or natural. Hummel starts and ends phrases on pitches that are both keyed and not keyed. This shows that the instrument used in the time that the Hummel concerto was performed must have had decent tone quality both when keys were depressed and when they were not26.
Leading up to the composition of these concertos, works were written for the natural trumpet and slide trumpet. There was a drastic change in the literature between
24 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 15. 25 Matthew McCready, “An Idiomatic View of the Keyed Trumpet Through Two Concerti,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, September 1984, 47. 26 Matthew McCready, “An Idiomatic View of the Keyed Trumpet Through Two Concerti,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, September 1984, 50. 17 the styles prior to the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos and those used in the concertos. Many of the works including and featuring trumpets prior to the keyed trumpet were written for natural trumpet. This means that they followed the harmonic series or changed notes less rapidly than the keyed trumpet. Three specific works including Pietro Baldassare’s Sonata No. 1 in F composed between1700 and 1725, G. F.
Handel’s Suite in D Major composed in 1733, and Johann Friedrich Fasch’s Concerto á 8 written in 1743, show a good representation of the trumpet literature prior to Haydn,
Hummel, and the keyed trumpet. Within these pieces, there is little to no chromaticism.
The chromaticism that does exist is within a half step of a pitch in the harmonic series.
Players would have to lip this pitch half a step in order to make it sound in tune. This means bending the pitch half a step through the tightening or relaxing of lip muscles.27
Also, these compositions are written in the upper tessitura of the instrument also known as the clarino range. The harmonic series allows for higher notes to be closer together.
The key signature within these compositions does not change. In movements that do change key signature, the trumpet does not play any notes that were not in the original key signature. Therefore, the trumpet still plays within the harmonic series.
In 1829, J. N. Hummel completed Military Septet Op. 114 which called for a trumpet.
After studying the trumpet part, it is apparent that the trumpet written for by Hummel was a natural trumpet in the key of C. The notes scored in the trumpet part all fit within the harmonic series of the natural trumpet. Therefore, the notes written are usually in the upper register so that the trumpet can play notes that are melodic and yet fall within the harmonic series. There are no chromatic notes outside of the harmonic series. Also, in
27 Art Brownlow, The Last Trumpet: A History of the English Slide Trumpet (New York: Pendagon Press, 1996), 15. 18 the Adagio movement, the trumpet does not play. This means either more power is involved with the trumpet than Hummel wanted in this movement, or he doesn’t believe that the natural trumpet can play melodically enough to fit into the texture. Since
Hummel wrote his trumpet concerto twenty-six years prior to the composition of this sextet, one can see that the keyed trumpet did not have a lasting effect.
Both Haydn and Hummel composed their trumpet concertos for Anton Weidinger, a
Viennese keyed trumpet player. Born in Vienna in 1767, Weidinger was first educated on trumpet during a two-year apprenticeship in Vienna under chief court trumpeter Peter
Neuhold. Weidinger was so successful that he was allowed to leave this apprenticeship before two years were completed. For about two years he was a field trumpeter in Prince
Adam Czartorisky’s couirassier regiment, knights who fought in the name of Prince
Adam. After leaving the military service, Weidinger joined the Royal Imperial Theater in Vienna. From here, he proceeded to work on the keyed trumpet. Many believe that he was the inventor of the keyed trumpet, but Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart wrote for one in his Idéen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst which is dated 1783-8528. Although
Weidinger is not the inventor of the keyed trumpet, he is known as the “greatest virtuoso”29 on the instrument. He was known outside of Vienna for his skill on the trumpet. In 1802 and again in 1803, a tour was taken to perform on the keyed trumpet.
Reviews of this tour show that Weidinger was a skillful player who, through the keyed trumpet, was capable of much more than previous trumpeters. His son, Joseph, became a
28 Trevor Herbert and John Wallace, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 131. 29 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975). 19 brass soloist by the age of ten. Two other skilled keyed trumpet soloists appeared in
Vienna after 1815, Joseph Werner and Anton Khall30.
The Haydn Trumpet Concerto was not publicly performed for four years after it was composed31. It is speculated that this is because the keyed trumpet was not ready to be played until then. Another possibility is that Haydn wrote a concerto that was more challenging than Weidinger could play, so time was needed to work up to playing the concerto32.
It is believed by some that Anton Weidinger helped Hummel finalize the trumpet part of his concerto. The chords would have been written out along with much of the accompaniment allowing the solo trumpet line to be placed on top33.
The Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos share a motive that Anton Weidinger could have influenced. Hummel could have heard Weidinger playing movement three measures 86-92 of the Haydn trumpet concerto (Figure 1b) and decided to include it in movement three measures 194-202 of the Hummel trumpet concerto (Figure 1a).
Otherwise, Weidinger could have written this part of the concerto, as previously stated.
Both the performer and the instrument had to be capable of performing this portion of the solo. Through the development of both the performer and the instrument, Hummel was able to expand the idea that Haydn first wrote.
The opera Les Deux Journées by Luigi Cherubini premiered in 1800 at the
Théâtre Feydeau in Paris. Many performances of this opera were held in Frankfort,
30 Reine Dahlqvist, The Keyed Trumpet and Its Greatest Virtuoso, Anton Weidinger (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975), 20. 31 H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn: The Late Years 1801-1809 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977), 5:280. 32 Edward H. Tarr, “Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto (1796-1996) and its Origins,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, September 1996, 33 33 Edward Tarr. Foreword to Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Concerto a Tromba principale (Mainz: Universal Edition, 1972) 20
Berlin, and Vienna. Hummel potentially saw a production of this opera, or even conducted a version of it. Either way, noticeable features exist in the Hummel trumpet concerto that were taken from the Cherubini opera. It is known that Hummel had access to a score of the opera because he arranged “Theme from Cheubini’s Opera Les Deux
Journées Arranged with Variations for the Piano Forte” in 1802. Therefore, even if
Hummel did not intentionally include material from this opera, he knew and previously used the material. Whether consciously or subconsciously, this material was used in
Hummel’s “Concerto” for trumpet. Cherubini’s opera is considered a “rescue opera” because it has a plot that is based on rescuing someone. Thus, Hummel’s trumpet concerto is sometimes referred to as the “Rescue” Concerto34.
The second act, third movement of the Cherubini opera is a march that Hummel used in his concerto. Since both of these works were composed in the key of E, they both have the dominant (fifth scale degree) as the note B. In the concerto, the march begins at measure 167 of movement 3. Then, the trumpet enters on the dominant note with a rhythmic figure that represents that of Mikéli in measures 113-117 of the Act 2 Finale.
Within the opera, this character plays a heroic role to save Count Armand. Trumpets play this rhythmic figure in a fanfare fashion which is the stylistic equivalency of heroism on the trumpet35.
The accompaniment used in the third movement, measures 232-236 is taken from an accompaniment portion of the march within the Act two Finale of Cherubini’s Opera.
34 Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 16. 35 Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 16. 21
It begins in measure 116. These accompaniments use the exact same notes as each other36.
At the end of the second act in the opera, to close the march, the soldiers leave.
This can be found in measures 231-235 (figure 5a) where a motive is used to create a sense that the soldiers are leaving. Hummel took this motive and condensed it and then included it in the accompaniment of measures 240-242 (figure 5b) of movement three in his trumpet concerto. Although this motive is condensed and used directly within these measures, it is pulled apart and appears within the solo line at the beginning of the movement and throughout the movement37.
Figure 5a. (Upper) Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 20.
Figure 5b. (Lower) Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal,
36 John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 422. 37 Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 16. 22
In Act one Scene two of the Cherubini opera, a transition is used in measures twenty-six through thirty-eight that moves from the keys D to f# minor with the transitional key of C#. Hummel uses this same transition in the first movement of his
“Concerto” in measures 224-23238.
In addition to this transition, it is important to note the key relationships of Act two Finale in the opera are all based on thirds (Figure 6a). As with the opera, the trumpet concerto uses key relationships of predominately thirds (Figure 6b)39.
Figure 6a. Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 20.
38 Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 16. 39 Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 17. 23
Figure 6b. Ian Pearson, “Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Rescue” Concerto : Cherubini’s Influence on Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto,” International Trumpet Guild Journal, May 1992, 20.
There is a misconception that the Hummel concerto was originally composed in the key of Eb. Actually, the original Hummel concerto was in the key of E, as was the
Cherubini opera. This was possibly done by Hummel because he was influenced by the opera. It is important to note the clear difference in timbre between the E and Eb trumpet. Also, each key has a different feel for the orchestra. Hummel may have associated certain parts of the Cherubini opera as being specifically in the key of E.
Since material is used from the opera, the timbre would have changed if it were played in any other key40.
Since there are so many references to the opera within the Hummel trumpet concerto, it is assumed that Hummel intentionally used this material. This piece was
40 John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 422.
24 written to be performed in front of the educated royalty at the Habsburg court in Vienna.
They would know the Cherubini opera that is referenced so many times. Through referencing this well-known and enjoyed opera, Hummel is able to engage his audience more thoroughly and show them his musical intelligence. He can also show Cherubini the respect held for this opera and its composer. Unknowingly, Hummel has allowed trumpet players and listeners of today to experience some of the Les Deux Journées.
Hummel took lessons from Mozart which led Hummel to have great respect for this teacher. Taking these lessons encouraged Hummel to use material from Mozart within his compositions. The trumpet concerto includes several of these references.
Mozart’s Symphony thirty five K. 385 “Haffner” begins with an ascending two octave leap (Figure 7a). Hummel takes Mozart’s idea and changes it to a one octave descending jump in the string accompaniment (Figure 7b). Right after this two octave jump in
“Haffner,” there is an ascending sixteenth note run in the high strings followed by a descending pattern and these two measures are repeated. Hummel uses this nearly verbatim following the octave leap (Figure 7b) 41.
41 John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 410 25
Figure 7a. The beginning leap and sixteenth notes of Mozart’s Symphony 35 K. 385 “Haffner.” John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 411
26
Figure 7b. The beginning of the first Hummel trumpet concerto with the leap and the sixteenth notes. John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 412
The “Haffner” Symphony was one of the few Mozart symphonies that was published before he died. It was performed as early as 1780. Listeners to Hummel’s concerto would know and potentially recognize the reference to “Haffner.” On the other hand, K. 467 was published in 1800. This reference would, therefore, most likely not have been recognized because of the recent releasing42.
The J. N. Hummel and F. J. Haydn trumpet concertos are similar in many ways because both composers were influenced by many of the same factors. Hummel took
42 John A. Rice, “The Musical Bee: References to Mozart and Cherubini in Hummel's 'New Year' Concerto,” Music & Letters (Oxford University Press 1996), 410 27 lessons from Haydn on the organ. Both composers wrote their trumpet concerto while working at Estarháza causing them to be influenced by the same surroundings. They both lived in Vienna. Mozart and his works influenced both Haydn and Hummel and their compositional styles. Since both of these concertos were written during the
Classical period, the Classical style plays a prominent role in the compositions through form, ornamentation, and the use of the trumpet within the literature. The keyed trumpet is the instrument that both of these concertos were written to be performed on. This is significant because without the keyed trumpet, these concertos would not have been playable during the period when they were composed. Haydn and Hummel both composed for keyed trumpet virtuoso Anton Weidinger. Other important influences on
Hummel were Luigi Cherubini’s Les Deux Journeés and Mozarts “Haffner” Symphony
35 K. 385. Through learning about the histories of the composers and the things which influenced them, one can better understand the similarities between the Haydn and
Hummel trumpet concertos.
28
Bibliography
Baines, Anthony. Brass Instruments: Their History and Development. New York: Faber and Faber Limited, 1976. Baldassare, Pietro. Beer, John and Block, Robert Paul ed. “Sonata No. 1 in F: for Trumpet (Cornetto), Strings and Basso continuo.” Wiesbaden, Leipzig, Paris: Musica Rara, 2000 Bizzarini, Marco and Jackman, James L.. "Baldassari, Pietro." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
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Hicks, Anthony. "Handel, George Frideric." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
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